Cosmetic brushes are the main applicators for people applying makeup. Different sorts of makeup require different brushes such as a lip brush, an eye shadow brush etc. In cosmetic applicators currently commercially available, one brush has only one function, so the user needs to buy a set of brushes to achieve a satisfactory makeup application. A brush head on a normal brush can be damaged by frequent use, and may need to be replaced. However, it is wasteful to throw the brush handle and ferrule away when only the head of the brush is damaged.
Commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/975,808 proposes a brush with interchangeable heads sharing a common handle. In the brush sets proposed in that application, the detached heads are stored in a wallet, with the bristles or other applicator head of each brush exposed. Although care is taken to prevent the heads from rubbing against one another in the wallet, offsetting of cosmetics from one head to another, or damage to the heads, cannot be entirely prevented. The head actually mounted on the handle is even more exposed, because it is typically not stored in the wallet.
Cosmetic brushes are available that include a sleeve. The sleeve can be slid between a retracted position, in which the sleeve effectively becomes part of the handle, and an extended position, in which the sleeve surrounds and protects the brush head. A disadvantage of those “retractable” brushes is that when cleaning the brush head water or other cleaning agents can get into the sleeve mechanism. Water can rust or tarnish metal parts, cause parts of natural material to swell, and otherwise impair the function or appearance of the sleeve mechanism. Even if the water does no actual damage, it can remain trapped in the mechanism, so that next time the sleeve is extended the sleeve is wet, which is unpleasant for the user, and the wetness may combine undesirably with cosmetic powders. In addition, the handle and sleeve mechanism is comparatively expensive, and it is uneconomical to have one such handle and sleeve mechanism for every brush head, which has to be discarded when the head becomes damaged or worn out.